Technical Field
This invention relates to a scale for weighing produce in a retail store, and specifically to a produce weight station that includes a scale and a camera.
State of the Art
Retail establishments which sell groceries often sell produce such as fruit and vegetables. Produce sections of retail stores present unique challenges as compared to packaged foods. These special challenges include the need to continually monitor the produce to eliminate over-ripe or spoiled produce and replace it with fresh stock, and the need to monitor newly received produce for its readiness for sale. Often, retail store employees spend much of their time visually inspecting the produce to determine its suitability for sale, and to replace over-ripe or spoiled produce with fresh. An additional challenge is that the retail store needs to have a scale located in the produce section for consumers to determine the cost of a produce product, because many produce product costs are based on the weight of the produce. Scales are often located in both the produce section and at registers so that both the customer and the cashier can determine the cost of a produce product. The trend towards self-checkout and electronic scanning and checkout using mobile computing devices complicates the produce purchase because produce does not have an easily-scannable bar code, but instead needs to be weighed and the cost entered manually into the mobile device.
Accordingly, what is needed is a produce weigh station for use in a retail store that weighs produce, determines the cost of the produce, and electronically transfers the cost of the produce into a customer mobile computing device. Also, what is needed is a produce weight station that can help store employees monitor the status of the produce that is being weighed.